Siding construction



March 23, 1965 K. LOCKWOOD 3,174,256

SIDING conswaucnon Filed March 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

LLOYD K. LOCKWOOD ;W, WWW

ATTORNEYS March 23, 1965 L. K. LOCKWOOD 3,174,256

SIDING CONSTRUCTION Filed March 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 'LLOYD K. LOCKWOOD ATTORNEYS 3,174,256 SIDING CGNS'IRUCTION Lloyd K. Lockwood, Saginaw, Mich, assignor of onehalf to Robbins Flooring Company, Reed City, Mich, a

corporation of Michigan Filed Mar. 14, 1960, Ser. No. 14,773 8 Claims. (Cl. 50214) This invention relates to siding construction and more particularly to the construction of siding strips, their mounting members, and their fastening devices, all of whichrcooperate with one another to enable the strips to be applied quickly, attractively and economically, without shimming, to either old or new building structures.

Siding material of the kind with which the invention primarily is concerned comprises lengths of wood, woodlike or wood substitute material of known kinds which are adapted to simulate the appearance of conventional wood siding.

An object of this invention is to provide siding construction composed of lengths of siding material capable of being applied in overlapping relation to the sides of a building or like structure and in such manner that the lengths of material are capable of movement relative to their mounting means so as to be self-compensating for expansion and contraction forces.

Another object of the invention is to provide siding construction wherein the ability of the lengths of material to shift relatively to their mounting means is accomplished without the necessity of slotting, notching, or otherwise providing an open area in the body of the individual lengths of material.

A further object of the invention is to provide siding construction of the kind referred to wherein the lengths of material and their mounting means cooperate to align both thetop and bottom edges of each length of siding.

Still another object of the invention is to provide mounting means for lengths of siding material which are capable of being firmly mounted on a supporting structure without complications due to uneven spacing of studding or the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide amounting device for individual lengths of siding material and which promotes mounting of the devices on the base structure in a manner which increases its holding qualities. I

Still another object of the invention is to provide siding construction of the kind referred to wherein the individuallengths of siding are so constructed as to be capable of being turned end-for-end and used either way equally well.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out specifically or will become apparent from the following description when it is considered in con-- junction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary, sectional view of a portion of a typical wall of a house or the like and illustrating one embodiment of the siding and one embodiment of its mounting means, the siding material of the inven-' tion being applied over old siding;

' FIGURE 1-A is a fragmentary, enlarged view of a portion of the structure shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 2 is afragmentary, partly sectional front elevation of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE .1, but illustrating another embodiment of the siding and another embodiment of the mounting means; i

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 2, but illustrating the embodiment disclosed in FIGURE 3; i

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 wherein the siding material is the same as that shown in FIGURE 3, but where the mounting device is different;

ice

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 4, but showing the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 5, but illustrating still a further modified form of the mounting means;

FIGURE 8 isa front elevational view, partly in section, of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 7;

I ably, the front 'face 4 of each siding strip 3 is painted FIGURE 9 is an enlarged elevation of a portion of the mounting device shown in FIGURES 7 and 8;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary, front elevational view illustrating a number of lengths of siding material arranged in end-to-end relation and illustrating one form.

of fastening device for maintaining the adjacent ends of a pair of lengths of siding in abutting relation;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged, fragmentary front elevational view of a portion of the structure shown in FIG- URE 10;

FIGURE 12 is a top plan view of the structure shown,

in FIGURE 11; and

FIGURE 13 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, but illustrating the applicability of the siding material to a fiat wall, that is, a wall having no old siding thereon. I

In all of the embodiments of the invention shown in FIGURES 1-12, the siding material is shown as being applied over old shingles or clapboards 1 which at some time in the past would have been secured to sheathing 2 or the like by nails (not shown) in the conventional manher of applying wood materials to the outside walls of a building. Siding constructed and mounted in accordance with the invention, however, is capable of being applied directly to the sheathing itself in the case of newly constructed buildings and this characteristic of the invention is illustrated in FIGURE 13. In either instance, shimming is not required.

The siding construction formed in accordance with the embodiment of the invention disclosed in FIGURES being alike and each having a front surface 4 and a rear surface 5 bounded by top and bottom edges 6 and 7, re-' spectively, and end edges 8 (see FIGURE 10). Preferprior to installation, but the rear face 5 need not be painted. One important characteristic of the strips 3 is that their upper and lower edges are contoured so as to present surfaces which are non-planar. 2 and 13, the upper edge 6 of each siding strip 3 preferably is beveled as at 9 so as to slope downwardly to-' wards the rear face 5, and the lower edge of each strip 3 preferably is grooved between its front and rear surfaces as at 10.

Means for mounting the siding strips 3' comprises a number of mounting devices or channels 11, each of which is alike, and each of which comprises a formed body having a supporting section 12 terminating at its forward end in an upstanding lug or flange 13 that is adapted to enter the groove 10 at the lower edge of an adjacent,

upper siding strip 3. The rearward edge of the supporti ing section 12 is reversely bent as at 14 so as to bear against the upper edge of an adjacent, lower siding strip 3. From the bend 14 the body of the mounting chan-- nel extends substantially parallel to the support-ing sec-- tion 12 and is bent as at 15 short of the flange 13 to forrnf a bearing surface that bears against the lower edge of the upper adjacent siding strip 3 and spaces it from the lower strip. The section of the mounting device between the bends 14 and 15 comprises a spacer section. From the bend 15 the channel body has an intermediate section 16 that extends upwardly and rearwardly toward the plane of the reversely bent edge of the section 12 to a point adjacent to the upper end of the lower adjacent panel 3, at which point the section or portion '16 is bent sub- In FIGURES 1,

stantially at right angles as at 17 so as to form a mount ing portion 17a that conforms substantially to the slope of and engages the surface 9. From the section 17a the mounting portion is reversely bent as at 18 to form an attaching section 18a. The sections 18a and 17a form a substantially U-shapedchannel lying wholly above the upper edge of the siding strip.

When a mounting member 11 is applied to the upper edge of a previously installed siding strip 3, the U-shaped attaching chanhel presents an upwardly inclined receiver for securing nails 19. A carpenter applying the siding will havea natural tendency to hold the nail 19. in such position that its point engages the bottom of the channel for-med by portion 18. As a result, when the nail is driven into the base structure .1, it will enter at an angle to the horizontal until its head 20 engages the two outer edges of the channel. The nonhorizontal positioning of the nail 19 causes it to resist being extracted from the base structure more than it would if it were located horizontally and, inasmuch as the direction of nailing is substantially normal to the intermediate portion 16, the nail head 20 will bear against the upper edge of the section 16.

and force the latter towards the strip 3, thereby avoiding any tendency of the mounting channel 11 to rock about the upper edge of the siding strip 3 on which it is mounted.

It is not necessary that the base of the channel be provided with openings to accommodate the nails 19, inasmuch as the mounting members may he formed of aluminum, for example, which easily may be pierced by the nails. If desired, the bottoms of the channel portions may be perforated at intervals along their length.

As will be apparent from FIGURE 1, the legs defining the groove are of unequal length. The outer leg is somewhat longer than the inner leg so that it may ovenlie the supporting section 12 of the mounting member. and shield the latter from view when the siding strips are in place on a wall.

The installation of the siding strips 3 proceeds in tiers from near the bottom. of a wall towards the top. It often is necessary to place two or more siding strips 3 inendto-end relation to span the width of a wall and, in orderto maintain the abutting edges of a pair of strips 3 as new together as is possible, fastening means is provided. The means is illustrated in FIGURES 10-12 and ineludes a fastening member 21 having a central portion or web 22 which is adapted to lie against the outer facesof a pair of abutting siding strips 3. At one end of the web 22 is a substantially right-angular leg 23 that is adapted to project through an opening 24 formed adjacent to one end and near the upper edge of a siding strip 3. At the other end of the web 22 is a generally rightangular leg portion 25 which parallels the, ieg 23 but terminates in a right-angularextension 26 which parallels the web 22. The length of the leg 25 should be such that the distance between the extension 26 and the web 22 corresponds substantially to the thickness of the strip 3. One end of each strip 3 is provided witha notch 27 that is adapted to receive the leg portion 25. The levelof the base of the notch 27' should correspond substan-v tially to the level of the opening 24 and the distance between the opening 24 and the notch 27 should correspond substantially to the length of the web 22 of the,

anchor device, but it is preferable that the length of the web 22 be such that the leg portions 23 and 25 do not lie loosely in their respective openings. If the distance be! tween the legs 23 and 25 is only slightly less than the, dis?. tance between the openings 24 and 27, the. fastening de: vice 21 will be placed under tension when itis installed. This is a desirable characteristic since the member 21 will then maintain the abutting edges of the siding strips tightly against one another and aid. in maintainng the abutting strips aligned. In order to facilitate assembly of the fastening members 21 with the siding strips, the upper edge of each notch 27' may be sloped or cammed as at 28 so as to enable. the leg portion 25. to enter the upper edge of notch 27 easily. Then upon striking the leg 25 with a hammer or the like. the leg 25 may be seated at the base of the notch 27 where it will be retained by the tension imposed on the fastening device.

The relative locations of the .openings 24 and 27 are such that, when the fastening devices are in place, they will lie in the space between the portions 14 and 16 of the mounting members 11.i Thus, the fastening devices 21 will be obsecured from view and will not interfere with the application of the mounting members or with the lateral movement of the strips during expansion or contraction.

A particular advantage of the construction described thus far is that none of the siding strips 3 must be notched to accommodate either the mounting members 11 or the securing nails 19. As a consequence, the nails 19 may be driven into the base structure, that is, the members 1 and 2 or the studding (not shown) at any convenient point. Moreover expansion and contraction of the siding strips 3 in a lateral direction exert no force on the securing nails 19 and consequently the means by which the siding strips 3 are held in place are not weakened by natural expansion and contraction of the siding.

Another important advantage of the construction described thus far is that the flange 13 of each mounting memben'by engaging in the groove 10 at the bottom of each siding strip 3, is capable of maintaining the lower edges of abutting strips in alignment. The engagement of the attaching channel formed by the sections 17, 18 and 18a with the upper edges of the strips functions. to maintain the upper edges of abutting strips in alignment. Consequently, it is possible to avoid waviness in siding constructed in accordance with the invention.

In the embodiment of the invention disclosed in FIG- URES 3 and 4 each of the siding lengths 3a has a groove 10 in its lower edge similar in all respects to the groove 10 previously described and, in addition, the upper edge of each. strip of siding 3a is similarly grooved as at 10a. As a result, either long edge ofthe strips of siding may be considered the top or the bottom. This is an important characteristic of the invention since it enables a strip of siding to be cut obliquely to fit against a gable, for example, and permits the piece cut off the strip of siding to be turned end-for-end so that the obliquely. cut edge also may be fitted against the gable, thereby avoiding; the necessity of cutting twopieces. of siding.

Associated with the siding strips 3a shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 is a mounting member 11a having parts 12, 13, 14, and 15 similar to those described earlier. From the upper end of the intermediate portion 16, however, the, body of the member 11a is bent to conform substantially to the grooved contour of the siding strip 3a thereby providing a mounting portion having'a short part that seats upon the upper edge of the siding and a terminal part forming a depending tongue portion 30 that is received in the groove 10a of the siding strip 311. The tongue. 30 terminates in an upwardly inclined attaching flange 31- through which securing nails 19 may. be driven in a manner and at the angle previously described.

Another. important characteristic of the construction shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 is that each mounting member 11a serves not only to mount an adjacent upper siding strip, but also serves to align the upper and lower edges of adjacent boards. That is, the flange. 13 at the end of the supporting leg 12 will maintain a pair of abutting siding strips 3a in alignment and the tongue 30 will maintain the upper edges of a pair of siding strips 3a in alignment. 7

In the embodiment of theinvention shown in FIG- URES 5 and 6,,the siding strips are identical to the strips 3a earlier described. The mounting members 11b, however, differ from the mounting members 11a in that the attaching flange 31a is struck up from the intermediate portion 16 and the tongue. 30a of the mounting portion which is received in the groove a of the siding strip is of single thickness only. In all other respects the structure shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 corresponds to the structure shown in FIGURES 3 and 4.

In the embodiment disclosed in FIGURES 7, 8, and 9, the siding strips again are like the other siding strips 3a previously disclosed and the mounting member 11c is quite similar to the mounting member 11b with the exception that the attaching means of the members 11c comprise tabs 32 struck up from the intermediate portion 16 and to which are connected loops or hangers 33 formed of wire and through which the securing nails 19 extend. The upper ends of the hangers 33 should be of such size as to prevent the heads 20 of the nails from passing therethrough. In all other respects the members 110 are like the members 11b.

In each of the embodiments disclosed in FIGURES 3-9, the fastening means 21 described earlier in connection with the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1, 2, 11, and 12 also may be used.

As is indicated in FIGURE 13, the principles of the invention are applicable not only to the installation of siding over old construction but also to new or flat wall structures. While only the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 is detailed in FIGURE 13, it should be clear that any of the other embodiments may as well be used.

This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Serial No. 567,527, filed February 24, 1956, now Patent No. 3,060,641.

This disclosed embodiments are representative of presently preferred forms of the invention but are intended to be illustrative rather than definitive thereof. The invention is defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. An elongated mounting device for a length of siding, said device comprising a substantially planar supporting section having forward and rearward ends, said supporting section terminating at its forward end in an upstanding lug and being reversely turned at its rearward end to form a spacer section overlying and spaced from said supporting section but terminating at its forward end short of the forward end of the latter, an intermediate portion joined to the forward end of said spacer section and overlying said spacer section and extending rearwardly at an inclination to the latter, a. mounting portion joined to said intermediate portion at its rearward end, said mounting portion having at least a part thereof extending in angular relationship to said intermediate portion toward the plane of said supporting section and beyond the rearward end of the latter but terminating short of the plane of said supporting section, and an attaching member joined to one of said portions and extending therefrom in a direction away from the plane of said supporting section.

2. The device set forth in claim 1 wherein said attaching member is joined to said mounting portion and forms with the latter a generally U-shaped channel.

3. The device set forth in claim 1 wherein said attaching member comprises a flange reversely bent from the rearward end of said mounting portion.

4. The device set forth in claim 1 wherein said attaching member comprises a tab struck out from said intermediate portion.

5. The device set forth in claim 1 wherein said attaching member comprises a tab struck out from said intermediate portion, and includes a loop member secured to said tab and extending therefrom away from the plane of said supporting section.

6. The device set forth in claim 1 wherein said spacer section is substantially parallel to said supporting section.

7. An elongated mounting device for a length of siding, said device comprising a substantially planar supporting section having forward and rearward ends, said supporting section terminating at its forward end in an upstanding lug, an intermediate portion joined to the rearward end of said supporting section and extending in a direction away from the plane of said supporting section, a mounting portion joined at one of its ends to said intermediate portion and extending at an incline toward the plane of said supporting section and rearwardly of the rearward end of the latter but terminating short of the plane of said supporting section, and an attaching section joined to the terminal end of said mounting section and overlying the latter, said attaching section terminating substantially fiush with the juncture of said mounting portion and said intermediate portion to form with said mounting portion a substantially U-shaped channel that opens forwardly.

8. Siding construction comprising a number of similar strips of siding material each having front and rear faces and top, bottom, and end edges, said strips being arranged so that an end edge of one lies adjacent an end edge of another; an elongated mounting member of such length as to bridge the adjacent ends of said strips and comprising a body having a first section seated on the top edge of each of said strips of material and extending downwardly and rearwardly below the top edge of said front face, a second section connected to said first section and overlying part of said front face of each of said strips of material and together with said first section embracing the top edge of each of said strips of material, and a third section connected to said second section and adapted to support a strip of siding material other than said number of strips; attaching means connected to said body and adapted to receive anchor means for anchoring said body on a wall or the like, said attaching means extending above said first section of said body for enabling said anchor means to be located above the top edge of said number of strips of material, whereby said number of strips are capable of movement relative to said wall; and fastening means interconnecting the adjacent ends of said number of strips beneath said second section of said body for maintaining said strips in fixed relation to one another.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 23,568 Kinghorn Oct. 28, 1952 697,746 Pierson Apr. 15, 1902 876,098 Savery Jan. 7, 1908 1,971,411 I-Iigley Aug. 28, 1934 2,024,068 Shannon Dec. 10, 1935 2,128,495 Murphy Aug. 30, 1938 2,187,752 Olsen Jan. 23, 1940 2,216,271 Joiner Oct. 1, 1940 2,248,723 Robinson July 8, 1941 2,249,125 Gabriel July 15, 1941 2,255,247 Gabriel Sept. 9, 1941 2,292,984 Alvarez Aug. 11, 1942 2,308,790 Stagg Jan. 19, 1943 2,353,455 Gisondi July 11, 1944 2,467,637 Strohm Apr. 19, 1949 2,495,303 Wisniewski Jan. 24, 1950 2,511,083 Small June 13, 1950 2,535,620 Alvarez Dec. 26, 1950 2,648,104 Scott et al Aug. 11, 1953 2,697,262 Olsen Dec. 21, 1954 2,718,673 Nelsson Sept. 27, 1955 2,740,166 Siering Apr. 3, 1956 2,754,551 Legnaioli July 17, 1956 2,820,257 Newton Jan. 21, 1958 2,820,535 Hutchison Jan. 21, 1958 2,898,741 Milliken Aug. 11, 1959 3,029,560 Benson 1 Apr. 17, 1962 3,060,641 Lockwood Oct. 30, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 350,140 Italy July 6, 1937 

1. AN ELONGATED MOUNTING DEVICE FOR A LENGTH OF SIDING, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR SUPPORTING SECTION HAVING FORWARD AND REARWARD ENDS, SAID SUPPORTING SECTION TERMINATING AT ITS FORWARD END IN AN UPSTANDING LUG AND BEING REVERSELY TURNED AT ITS REARWARD END TO FORM A SPACER SECTION OVERLYING AND SPACED FROM SAID SUPPORTING SECTION BUT TERMINATING AT ITS FORWARD END SHORT OF THE FORWARD END OF THE LATTER, AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION JOINED TO THE FORWARD END OF SAID SPACER SECTION AND OVERLYING SAID SPACER SECTION AND EXTENDING REARWARDLY AT AN INCLINATION TO THE LATTER, A MOUNTING PORTION JOINED TO SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION AT ITS REARWARD END, SAID MOUNTING PORTION HAVING AT LEAST A PART THEREOF EXTENDING IN ANGULAR RELATIONSHIP TO SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION TOWARD THE PLANE OF SAID SUPPORTING SECTION AND BEYOND THE REARWARD END OF THE LATTER BUT TERMINATING SHORT OF THE PLANE OF SAID SUPPORTING SECTION, AND AN ATTACHING MEM- 